Who I Want to Be in Q4 2018

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This post isn’t that readable. It’s sort of just a stream of consciousness as I think about how I can finish 2018 strong given all of the recent changes happening in my life.

It’s the last quarter (Q4) of 2018.

That’s insane. It feels like just yesterday 2018 just started.

But now as we sprint towards the finish, I have to ask myself the questions: what kind of things do I want to create this quarter? What kind of change do I want to see in myself? After leaving my former company, who do I want to become?

I’ve always been one to list out too many things, thus spreading out my focus. That’s something I really want to work on these next 3 months: nailing down my focus and getting really good at one thing. If anything, it will help me see how far I can go in one niche area.

I’ve read a lot of blogs about thinking about the person you want to be in terms of roles. I wanted to try that out so below, I’ve listed just 3 roles I want to be good at in Q4.

The 3 roles I want to excel at are:

Specialized continuous learner

Fit and healthy person

Worker and contributor

Why these 3 roles? Because I think they influence major parts of my life in a positive way. One thing I enjoy the most is learning new things and applying them. I also enjoy the benefits of being fit and healthy physically and mentally. And at work, I want to feel like I’m making a positive difference in someone’s life, like I’m contributing to the happiness of at least one person.

Without satisfaction of progress/learning, good health, and friends, how can you feel good about your life? You need all of these things in check to feel happy, at least in my opinion.

So with that, let’s figure out how to excel in all 3 areas of my life. I always like to base my goals in habits, as I have come to believe that all lasting changes come through habits — things you do regularly piece by piece to create ultimate benefit.

Here are ways I can grow in these 3 areas:

Specialized Continuous Learner:

HABIT: Listen to a podcast, read a book, or read a blog every day

HABIT: Write everyday

Take one course in any subject

Fit and Healthy Person:

HABIT: Sleep 7-8 hours per day

HABIT: Meditate 10 minutes per day

Gym 3-4x a week, purposefully allowing rest days

Worker and Contributor

HABIT: Work a full-time job for 40+ hours a week at an honest company towards improving people’s lives

HABIT: Reach out daily for 30 minutes to old contacts and maintain and improve my relationships with friends and family

Always be adventurous and try new things, restaurants, and hikes with my dog and people I love

If I simply ingrain all of the habits into my life, and take on the rest of the activities as “growth projects”, then I’ll be a happy man.

I’ve already gotten most of these habits down.

It’s just about locking in and really working on the discipline to follow through. There’s nothing some good discipline can’t accomplish. That means owning the responsibility to yourself to respect the things you need to get done. Saying no to the distractions that want to take you from these core habits.

I’ll be working more on how I’m taking action on these 3 roles in the post tomorrow.